Westgrove is just outside Old Town Alexandria between the George Washington Parkway and Fort Hunt Road. Here you'll find fine brick residences on rolling sidewalk-streets. Westgrove is close the the Mount Vernon Trail, Mount Vernon Rec Center, Martha Washington Library and Belle View Shopping Center.
Westover in Arlington
Many houses and apartments built before 1978 have paint that contains lead (called lead-based paint). Lead-based paint is perfectly safe when treated properly, but lead from paint, chips, and dust can pose serious health hazards if not taken care of properly. Lead is especially dangerous when ingested. Lead poses a greater risk to small children who might ingest paint chips.
Recognizing that families have a right to know about lead-based paint and potential lead hazards in their homes, Congress directed EPA and HUD to work together to develop disclosure requirements for sales and leases of older housing. These requirements became effective in 1996.
Federal law requires that individuals receive certain information before renting or buying a pre-1978 housing:
LANDLORDS have to disclose known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before leases take effect. Leases must include a disclosure form about lead-based paint.
SELLERS have to disclose known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before selling a house. Sales contracts must include a disclosure form about lead-based paint. Buyers have up to ten days to check for lead hazards.
Renovating, repairing or painting a home, child care facility or school containing lead-based paint
River Towers in Alexandria
Beginning in April 2010, federal law will require that contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.
Until that time, EPA recommends that anyone performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes, child care facilities and schools follow lead-safe work practices. The contractor should follow these three simple procedures:
Contain the work area
Minimize dust
Clean up throughly
To learn more check out the following EPA pamphlets on renovation, repair and painting:
Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers and Schools (PDF) (20 pp, 3.7MB)
Arlington Heights in Arlington
Contractors: Lead Safety During Renovation (PDF) (2 pp, 1.5MB) HTML version
Georgian
Befitting a king--in fact, the style is named for four King Georges of England--Georgian homes are refined and symmetrical with paired chimneys and a decorative crown over the front door. Modeled after the more elaborate homes of England, the Georgian style dominated the British colonies in the 1700s. Most surviving Georgians sport side-gabled roofs, are two to three stories high, and are constructed in brick.
Georgian homes almost always feature an orderly row of five windows across the second story. Modern-day builders often combine features of the refined Georgian style with decorative flourishes from the more formal Federal style.
For more information or to set up an appointment call Nesbitt Realty at (703)765-0300.
Georgian style residence
Old growth neighborhood
The economic theory of "Progression and Regression" states that building a home that is valued substantially above other properties in the same neighborhood will most likely cause the newly built home to value downward toward the other properties. This is sometimes called "overbuilding" because sometimes a homeowner will put additions or improvements on his home that are substantially better than his neighbors.
But the theory is called progression and regression because a home that is in a diminished condition in a better neighborhood will command a higher value. Additionally it is possible for a neighborhood to reach a tipping point. In other words, if enough of your neighbors "overbuild" your house could increase in value due to the increase in value of the neighborhood.
In Northern Virginia, we see this in many neighborhoods in and close to Alexandria and Arlington. For example, in Del Ray, older working-class homes have been replaced by or improved to become pricier and much more luxurious. Lyon Park and the area surrounding Belle Haven is not the same neighborhood that I remember as a child. Both of these areas have become much more exclusive.
Are you looking for new construction in Northern VA?
